somersault

On Harvard Biz Review (@HarvardBiz), Michael Schrage observes that “the following 6 ideas emerged this past year as powerful ‘innovation invitations.’ They seem certain to intensify in global power and influence. They'll be sources of — and resources for — innovation differentiation this coming year.”

1. The Slacktivism Co-Opt: As much a term of derision as global sociological phenomenon, slacktivism has emerged as social media’s way of making support for a cause as easy as a re-tweet or clicking Facebook’s “like” button....

2. Counting on Self-Quantifiers for Growth: Mobile, digital, and networked devices have created a global sub-culture of self-quantifiers — that is, individuals who rigorously count every step they take, every calorie they eat, every minute they sleep, every email/text they send/receive, and every schedule change they make....

3. Gerontabletification: Mobile phones are too small; their screens too tiny and keyboards too minute. But tablets have emerged as ideal media platforms for those requiring larger fonts and bigger keys. The iPad has ceased to be a symbol of youth and vitality. It’s now how silver haired executives — and 75 year old grandmas — read the news, manage their email and play games with the kids....

4. Globalizing Grand Challenges: Over the past decade, America has been a leader in the design, development, and marketing of competitions and prizes for technical innovation. But it's time the so-called emerging economies stepped up....

5. Handheld Augmented Reality: Who, or what, will be the Foursquare of Augmented Visualization and Interaction?....What's next is the first wave of mobile devices becoming augmented reality viewers for their users. Expect to see QR code/augmented reality mashups as a 2012 investment to facilitate the virtual transition....

6. The Greenlash Arrives: Is there a Greenlash emerging that’s pushing populations worldwide to reconsider so-called fossil fuels as better, safer, and more reliable than their renewable counterparts? There's little doubt that they’re proving to be cheaper....The green promises of eco-tech are taking longer and costing more than many of its champions promised. As energy-dependent economies chug along with growth far lower than expected or desired, green options are looking rather gray....

Read this in full.

Bookmark and daily use Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard, including our Innovation tab.

Jeff Sonderman (@jeffsonderman), digital media fellow at The Poynter Institute (@Poynter ), suggests that ebooks are causing change not only in traditional book publishing; they’re also causing a shift in news journalism. Here are lessons he offers:

·         Shorten the production cycle.

·         Crime and politics are popular topics.

·         Different price points.

·         Need to add value.

·         Don’t forget print books.

Read this in full.

Along the same lines, Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) is launching Christianity Today Essentials, a new series of “natural length ebooks,” described by editor-in-chief David Neff (@dneff) as content “longer than a longish magazine article, yet significantly shorter than the typical print book.” He says, “The format allows you, the reader, to go deeper and learn more than you could from a magazine article, without committing the time or money demanded by a full-length book.”

Leadership Network (@leadnet) is beginning a new series of "natural length experiences" under the brand Leadia (@leadiatalk). "Each piece is limited to 10,000 words and has live links to audio, video, and websites." A Leadia app is available for iPhones and iPads.

And Patheos.com (@Patheos) is starting Patheos Press, a "publisher of original ebooks."

Also read our blogpost, "Ebooks are the New Pamphlets."

As for changes in how news is reported, Meghan Peters (@petersmeg), Mashable's (@mashable) community manager, assesses in “6 Game-Changing Digital Journalism Events of 2011” the progress for online journalism in 2011, from breaking news curation to new revenue models:

1. Paywalls Find Their Footing

2. NPR’s Andy Carvin Proves the Value of Social Network Newsgathering

3. Journalists Flock to Google+

4. Mobile Gets Competitive

5. Facebook Makes Personal Branding Easier

6. The Pulitzer Goes Digital

Read this in full.

And just for fun, here’s a video of what the help desk would look like back in the day when print books overtook scrolls.

Stay current with news about the publishing world by bookmarking Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Changing Role of Christianity: Christian leaders are relatively unknown by the majority of Americans; half of Americans believe all people are eventually saved by God.

Downsized American Dreams: Americans’ are increasingly willing to accept limitations in life, including changing their spending and savings habits as well as distinguishing needs from wants. Many are also reducing their financial donations.

Millennials Rethink Christianity: The Christian community is struggling to remain connected with the next generation of teens and young adults. In particular, the church is “losing” many young creatives (like designers, artists, writers, musicians, and actors) as well as young science-minded students (such as medical students, engineers, biologists and mathematicians).

The Digital Family: Technology has become a part of modern life and is deeply embedded in today’s families. Yet, the challenges brought on by technology in the home are not all created by teens. Parents are becoming just as dependent on digital tools.

Maximizing Spiritual Change: Most Americans call themselves spiritual people and Christians. Yet, spiritual transformation is rare and fleeting.

Women Making it Alone: Teenage and young adult women are learning to prepare themselves for a changing social structure. For teens, this means focusing on career now. For young women, this means not expecting to be married until the late twenties, at least.

Read this in full.

Another way of determining trends is to see what terms people searched on Google for in 2011. Google Zeitgeist 2011 provides that info:

Video Year in Review

As for what people are watching, there were more than 1 trillion playbacks on YouTube in 2011. The highlight video is below. See the top ten individually.

When it comes to their technology profile, Americans who are members of religious groups are just as likely as others to use the Internet, have broadband at home, use cell phones, use text messaging, and use social networking sites and Twitter.

“Some analysts have been concerned that those who have active spiritual lives might not be as engaged with the secular world,” notes Jim Jansen, author of the report. “We see the opposite. Those who are religiously active are more likely to participate in all kinds of groups and more likely to feel good about their communities. Those who are active in religious groups seem to be joiners. They also are active users of technology.”

Read this in full.

Observing the same report, Baptist Press (@baptistpress) offers these highlights:

·         9% of those actively involved in religious groups use Twitter, the same percentage as the general population.

·         46% of those in religious groups use social networking sites—almost identical to the 47% of all adults.

·         60% of both groups use text messaging.

·         79% of those actively involved in religious groups use the Internet while 76% of all adults do so.

Attendance is a factor in determining the percentage of churchgoers involved in social media and electronic communication.

·         54% of weekly churchgoers use Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn—a much smaller percentage than the 71% of monthly churchgoers and 65% of less frequent churchgoers who do so. Pew said the average age of weekly churchgoers could explain the disparity

·         9% of weekly churchgoers use Twitter (15% of monthly churchgoers and 14% of less frequent churchgoers do so).

·         26% of weekly churchgoers make donations online (35% of monthly churchgoers; 27% of less frequent churchgoers).

·         70% of weekly churchgoers who have a cell phone send or receive text messages (80% of monthly churchgoers; 77% of less frequent churchgoers).

·         36% of weekly churchgoers use their cell phone to access the Internet (51% of monthly churchgoers; 45% of less frequent churchgoers).

Read this in full.

Also see our blogpost "Mississippi Is Most Religious USA State."

A major research study in 2007, reported in Leadership Journal (@Leadership_Jnl), concluded that Christians can be identified as belonging to one of 5 categories: Active, Professing, Liturgical, Private, and Cultural Christians.

Each group represents about one-fifth of those identifying themselves as Christian, with Active Christians most likely to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that affects their beliefs and inspires an active church life; Cultural Christians are least likely to align their beliefs or practices with biblical teachings, or attend church. Between the two is a range of beliefs, commitment levels, and public practice of the faith.

Read this in full.

A summary lists them:

·         Active Christians (19%): Committed churchgoers, often in positions of church leadership; believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ; Bible readers.

·         Professing Christians (20%): Similar beliefs to Active Christians, but less committed to church attendance; focus more on personal relationship with God and Jesus, less on Bible reading or faith sharing.

·         Liturgical Christians (16%): High level of spiritual activity; regular churchgoers, recognizing the authority of the church; predominantly Catholic and Lutheran.

·         Private Christians (24%): Largest and youngest segment; believe in God and have spiritual interest, but not within the church context; only one-third attend church at all, almost none are church leaders.

·         Cultural Christians (21%): God aware, but do not view Jesus as essential to salvation; affirm many ways to God; express little outward religious behavior.

Read this in full.

See the SlideShare deck.

To get a perspective on non-religious people, read USA TODAY's (@faith_reason) article, "For many, 'Losing My Religion' isn't just a song: It's life." And The Christian Post's (@ChristianPost) "Survey: Unchurched Do Not Ponder Life's Purpose, Afterlife."

Stay informed by bookmarking and daily using Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Religion News tab.

1.   Tablets. Yep, more tablets. The iPad and Kindle will continue to dominate. But expect other players to be competitive with next generation tablets, and new players (Microsoft) to finally enter. The other big news in the tablet space will be integrating them into our work life as enterprise IT deals with employees using tablets for work and a flood of B2B applications that will make tablets more than a media tool.

2.   Interfaces.

3.   Social.

4.   Internet of Things.

5.   Apps.

6.   Big Data.

7.   Analytics.

8.   Storage.

9.   Entertainment Everywhere.

10. Cloud Computing.

Read this in full.

Stay ahead of the curve by using the SomersaultNOW online dashboard of news and links; especially the Futurist news tab.

The New York Times Company Research & Development Lab (@nytlabs) has built an interactive mirror, called Reveal, that displays headlines, the weather, and even a current outside view, so you can stay up-to-the-minute while brushing your teeth.

As the physical world becomes increasingly digital, computing is becoming more connected to our physical selves

We've designed Reveal to explore how the relationship between information and the self is evolving and how media content from The New York Times (@nytimes) and others might play a part.

It uses a special semi-reflective glass surface, so that

users of the mirror are able to see both a normal reflection of the real world as well as overlaid, high-contrast graphics. We've dubbed this "augmented reflection." Conceptually, the idea is that our mirror can reveal the halos of data around real-world objects, including ourselves.

Envisioned as a key fixture in your home, the mirror uses face recognition to call up personalized data, including health stats, a calendar, news feeds, and other information relevant to your morning routine. Voice commands switch between views, and gestures (via an embedded Kinect) activate content, including fullscreen video messages from other mirror users. An RFID-enabled shelf responds to objects that are placed on it, such as medications and personal care products, revealing personalized data. The mirror will recognize certain behaviors, such as when you schedule a trip or fail to get enough exercise, and recommend contextually-relevant content. If you're interested, you can tap your phone on the mirror to sync the article for reading on the run or on our Surface Reader application.

Read this in full.

How will this type of innovation affect other content creators, such as you? What ideas does this prompt for you as you consider your publishing agenda and how your consumers will interact with your content?

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you navigate the churning waters that make up 21st century publishing.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Futurist news tab.

iPad storyteller Joe Sabia (@joesabia) introduces his TED (@tedtalks) audience to Lothar Meggendorfer (Lothar Meggendorfer at University of North Texas Libraries), who created a bold technology for storytelling: the pop-up book. Sabia shows how new technology has always helped tell stories.

Also see our previous blogpost, “Infographic: The Periodic Table of Storytelling.”

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you tell your story and promote your brand.

The Infographic below is from the report, Publishing in the Digital Era (pdf), by Bain & Company (@BainAlerts). From the introduction:

The written word — incised in clay, inked with a quill, printed on presses or transmitted as electronic bits in email — has always been at the heart of capturing and disseminating human knowledge.

Now it’s moving to dedicated e-readers, multipurpose tablets, and other digital devices that could be in the hands of 15% to 20% of the developed world’s population by 2015.

This new format will trigger a profound change in the publishing ecosystem and spark new trends in content creation itself....

Whatever the sector, the emergence of new reading devices suggests an interesting evolution in writing itself. Creating long-term value will not come from simply reformatting print content into digital words. Rather, the greatest opportunity lies in experimenting with such new formats as nonlinear, hybrid, interactive and social content, electronic modes that add motion, sound, and direct reader interactions through technologies [discussed in the report].

Read this report in full (pdf).

The above Infographic is by Visual Loop (@visualoop).

Last week, Nokia (@nokia) demoed a mindblowing prototype handheld device that lets you bend and twist the screen to complete actions like scrolling and zooming.

Meanwhile, Samsung (@Samsungtweets) said on an earnings call last week that it expected to debut phones with flexible displays in 2012 and that flexible tablets would follow.

The advantages of flexible displays are obvious: They're more durable, and they pave the way for new input methods, such as bending the display to zoom.

I think this technology will lead to the biggest breakthrough in mobile devices since the touchscreen. In fact, the next innovation in screen technologies may be an even bigger leap forward than touch displays.

Think not of a bendable display but of a foldable one.

Read this in full.

See Somersault’s previous blogposts “Revolutionary New Paper Computer Shows Flexible Future for Smartphones and Tablets” and "Flexible and Dual Computer Screens to Prepare For."

How will you prepare your publishing agenda for the advent of flexible screens? Let Somersault (@smrsault) help. And stay informed about the news of the future with the Future tab of RSS feeds and resources on SomersaultNOW.